“It could take days.”
“Then it will take days.”
Waverly’s men had suffered only minor losses so far, but the most dangerous type of fighting potentially still lay before them, that of clearing ships and buildings. They were, to a man, very, very good at this particular form of fighting, and they set to with great care. When she and Waverly reached the spaceport, he called his officers into a meeting, a plan was set, and assignments handed out. The officers returned to their men, assigning individual companies, platoons, and squads as necessary.
Lieutenant Stephens and his platoon of four squads was assigned one of four heavy gun emplacements on the perimeter of the spaceport. He approached warily with his men, not having a clue how to get into the building or how the insides of the building were laid out. He ran a hand over the stubble of a beard as he conferred with Sergeant Walters, his most experienced sergeant.
“It’s armored, that’s for sure, and probably shielded, as well,” Walters said, staring at the massive structure. It appeared as if a square block of obsidian, several stories high and some 50 meters on a side, had been planted in the ground. There were no windows and only one door that they could see.
“We won’t be able to blow our way in.”
“Maybe the door is unlocked,” Walters replied. “Let’s find out.”
Stephens placed his squads, one each at the back corners of the building, one at the nearest corner, and Sergeant Walters on the door. Walters was squad one. Squad two would follow if Walters could get in. The rest would remain outside for security. Stephens started to go with Walters and his men to the door, but Walters placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You know my guys are better at this,” he said. “This is a tough one. We don’t have a clue what we’ll run into, and we don’t know our way around. Why don’t you come in with squad two?”
Stephens looked at his grizzled sergeant in surprise. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right, Sergeant. I can’t compete with your years of experience. Go to it.”
Stephens received a call from squad three behind the building. “There’s a rear entrance, sir.”
“You know the drill, sergeant. No one that comes out of that door lives.”
“Yes, sir.”
Walters and his nine men rushed up to the side of the building and lined up to the right side of the door. If the door opened, everything would move very fast from that point on. Teams of four would work together, though the individual team members would change in a fluid and complex pattern of movement and covering movement, a ballet they had conducted many, many times. Fields of fire were fundamentaclass="underline" each man had a specific field of fire, and his weapon would never cross the body of another team member.
Sergeant Inoue was first in line. He touched the door-open pad, and to his surprise, the door rumbled slowly aside. Walters was amazed. The soldiers responsible for security here must have succumbed to the scree, as well. Inoue took a quick look across the opening to clear the far side of the room and moved in, angling around the door and turning to his right, his weapon pointed slightly down but ready for instant use. Immediately behind him, the second man, Sergeant Hodgson, slid in behind him, his weapon traversing from the center of the room to the left side of the room, and he moved left. The third man in moved right, focusing center and right, to follow Inoue. Walters came in fourth, focusing center and left, to follow number two. This took about three seconds.
The room wasn’t a room, it was a foyer that opened into two wide corridors, each going in opposite directions around the inside of the facility. Two soldiers thrashed about on the floor, clearly under the effect of the scree. No words were spoken as Inoue and number three continued to the right, and number two and Walters continued down the corridor to the left. The rest of the squad followed, each peeling off to the right or left. Walters team of four had two new members, and his own position, number four, had moved up to number two. His field of fire had changed, as had his movement, but the new number three and four men knew their jobs.
Several doors opened off the corridor before Walters. His number one, Sergeant Hodgson, stopped at the first door, which was open. Walters and the number three and four men immediately lined up behind Hodgson as he cleared what he could see of the room with his eyes, still close to the wall. It only took an instant, then he moved as before, into the room and right. Walters, as number two, went left, followed by numbers three and four. The room was empty. They moved back into the corridor, the last man in line breaking open a fluorescent tube and tossing it to the floor at the doorway. Anyone else coming this way would know the room was secure. Eight seconds had passed since entering the facility.
They moved down the corridor, clearing two more rooms before reaching the end of the corridor, which turned right. Twenty-five seconds had elapsed since entering the building. At the corner, Hodgson, hugging the outer wall, quickly made the turn, clearing the corridor with his eyes as his field of view increased, his weapon traversing with his eyes. Walters was immediately behind him, and he stayed to the right side of the corridor. Numbers three and four followed, concentrating center and left, but also concentrating high and low in case they encountered a threat from above, such as a catwalk. Hodgson saw movement half way down the corridor, but it was fleeting. He did not take a shot.
They continued down the corridor at a fast, practiced gate that kept the weapons steady, all four men now on the right side of the corridor, each with an assigned field of fire. More men came up behind them, half of squad two and Lieutenant Stephens. They reached a wide descending stairway opening off the right side of the corridor toward the inside of the building.
The team of four lined up on the approach to the stairway, then Hodgson turned the corner hugging the wall to his right and started down. Walters followed, crossing over to hug the wall to his left. They quickly reached a landing and made the left turn. Hodgson hugged the outer wall of the turn, his weapon clearing the lower stairway as it came into view. He saw movement and fired as two white heads peered around the entrance of a room at the bottom. He missed, but he kept moving down and firing. Walters made the turn right behind him, though he stayed on the left wall. He saw the same movement and fired, then instantly went into a crouch to improve his aim. He might have hit his target with the first shot but wasn’t sure. He fired three quick shots at the Chessori, then three shots at the other Chessori who disappeared. The other two men followed number one, remaining to the right side of the stairway and out of Walters field of fire.
They reached the bottom and were joined by Walters. One minute had elapsed since the first man entered the building, and some five seconds had elapsed since starting down the stairwell. One Chessori lay dead at their feet.
The stairway ended in a landing. Centered on the wall across the landing was a heavy blast door, wide open, leading into a large room filled with control stations. Three men were lined up on the right side of the doorway hugging the wall beside the door, and Walters lined up by himself to the left.
Hodgson tossed a stun grenade into the room, shouted “Light,” and they each counted two seconds. On the count of two, Hodgson entered, his weapon sweeping from left to right as he moved right. He fired two shots as his weapon traversed a Chessori head sticking up behind a console. He didn’t wait to see if he hit his target. His weapon continued traversing to the right as he moved right. He fired two more shots at another piece of Chessori visible to the side of a console, but again, he did not wait to see if he had hit his target. His flow continued to the right, and he moved along the wall to the right.
Immediately behind him, Sergeant Walters went left, his weapon also firing at the Chessori in the center, but he, too, continued his flow to the left, and he moved along the wall to the left. Immediately behind him, number three moved right but focused more on the center of the room. His weapon, too, fired at the first Chessori, though it was already dead. The body just hadn’t had time to fall yet. Number four followed Walters. The second Chessori was not dead. Number three moved right, following Hodgson. The Chessori raised a weapon toward Hodgson who was focused to his right and did not see the creature, but number three did. The upper part of the Chessori disappeared as three blaster shots hit it in quick succession.